Holy Poop!! I stopped at the Archery Shop that shares a building with my taxidermist. The 2010 Hoyt catalog had come in and their new top-of-the-line bow has an all carbon fiber frame. It also has a $1600 price tag on it. Needless to say, the two young guys that own it did not have three or four on display for me to try. The new FMJ shafts were there as well, there's something about $350 for a dozen arrows ... Thinking about $2100 for a new rig before I take the first shot: that makes me come home and hug my Howard Hill longbow and cedar arrows.

Man, this is the big time or something!!

Rich

I call it insanity, but doubtless they will sell quite a few! At one point, archery was a simple sport (equipment wise). Now, I do have a compound bow with sights, a release etc!....
Peter.

I have seen the price tag on these new 2010 Hoyt's...

To be honest I am not sure a $1600 USD bow will kill an Kudu or Eland more effective than my 2005 Allegiance or my 07 Tribute.

I am lucky that I am not part of the bow up grade craze that start this time of the year....

But to the guys thats willing to layout that kind of money...

@ $2100 US you are close to an hunt in Africa... Save a bit more and come and have a hunt of a life time on the Dark Continent...

Gerhard,

that is exactly what the little voice in the back of my head said "poop, you can have about half of a plains game hunt for that...".
Then I looked at the rack of new 2009 bows at 40% off. That was the frosting on the cake.

My third trip to Africa will be with bow.

Rich

Trust me you will not be sorry...

Let me know when you are ready to plan your bow hunt to Africa and I will gladly assist you.

Bows are sort of like computers. you probably "might" consider trading every 4-5 generations.
If you find one that fits you. Might as well stay with it.
The main difference I see is they get easier to shoot and as I get older that is not a bad thing.

Well, I do think that the technology has improved. Bows seem to be quieter, and with less "recoil", among other things. However the main pursuit seems to be speed. While attractive, I am not sold that it has to come at that price!
Peter.

If you guys have a Matthews stocking dealer close by, go visit and ask for the "drop test". They have two aluminum riser castings in the natural finish. The riser ends have a round hole in them and one has their recoil reducer inserts in the holes. Drop one and it "KLANGS" and bounces. The one with the inserts just "klunks" and does not bounce. Pretty cool show.

Rich

quote:

Originally posted by Gerhard.Delport:
To be honest I am not sure a $1600 USD bow will kill an Kudu or Eland more effective than my 2005 Allegiance or my 07 Tribute

I'm with you on that one, my 2007 Elite is still doing a great job!
Rather save that money and go hunting

Wow what a rip off. I would rather use that money for a hunt any day. besides I think that one is rewarded just as much if not more with a good bow (that didn't cost a arm and a leg) that still does the job just as well as an expensive one.

Enjoy the hunting everyone.

Hoyt makes excellent bows but 1600 is nuts.That said there are those that simply have to have the latest,greatest things on the market so they'll likely sell anyway.

I got to shoot one! A guy ordered one, and made the deal to get it for cost if he would leave it there for a week and some of us "favored few" could try it out. I think it weighs about a pound! Smooth, no hand shock or noise. Still ain't worth that kind of money to me.

Rich

This is part of the reason I sit on the sidelines as far as bow hunting is concerned. I look at all the rows of arhery equipment in Bass pro shops - Cabelas - ect.. I don't have the time to reseach another hobby & I like to buy equipment once and be done with it.

AND I like my rifles too much! Lee

a good Pro Shop is the best way to go. The top ten brands are all pretty even with hunting weight arrows. They let you try them out, and can keep you on the straight and narrow with tuning.

Rich

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
a good Pro Shop is the best way to go. The top ten brands are all pretty even with hunting weight arrows. They let you try them out, and can keep you on the straight and narrow with tuning.

Rich

I'll go with Rich on this one! A qualified archery shop will measure you for proper draw length and make sure that you're pulling a bow of sufficient poundage, without it being TOO much.

They'll let you try different bows so you can find one that fits you well and is comfortable for YOU to shoot.

They can explain the various accessories you'll need like sight, rest, stabilizer, release etc., and install them properly. Most good shops will even have you shoot the bow until it's sighted in at 20 yards, then show you how to adjust the sight for shooting longer distances. While they're doing this, they'll probably point out errors in shooting form and sell you the correctly spined arrows and heads before sending you on your way.

I've been around bows and archery for more than a few decades and while I don't consider myself to be an expert archer, I do know a few things.

I have yet to find anyone working in a "Big Box" archery department that really knew what they were talking about. I remember being in the Bass Pro in Nashville and the salesman was holding the bow upside down as he was "explaining" it to the customer. After the goober left, I felt obligated to the customer to carefully correct the information that he'd just been given!

For someone that is inexperienced in pretty much anything outdoors related, any of the big box stores is probably the last place I'd send someone.

But that's what you get when you pay minimum wage, hire high school kids and other people that are just looking for a job.

Yes, you will often find that you'll pay a bit more at a qualified pro shop for the same components that you could get at a box store, but you'll be getting something that is priceless, Quality Information and Service.

Archery is a fun and relaxing sport, but it's not terribly complicated. Providing you start out with equipment that is properly adjusted.

Wow, Id have to agree with the rising costs of new archery equipment. I read in one of my trade books that the typical archery hunter now spends $1000 per year on new equipment. I have a sporting goods shop and sell lots of new toys every year. Thats what I call all of the new stuff. I collect a few guns for myself as well, but when it comes to archery I still shoot an old X-15 recurve at #50 and a homemade longbow. Just cant see the facination with speed. But I still shoot a 1894 winchester 405 when gun hunting. But thats just me.

Shof,

the only good news about the Big Box stores, is that they can't find employees who don't speak english. So far...

Rich